Oleksandr Usyk defended his WBC Heavyweight title with an eleventh-round knockout of Rico Verhoeven on Saturday, May 23, at the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, Egypt. The bout was streamed live on DAZN pay-per-view.
According to Yahoo Sports, Usyk was last seen knocking out Daniel Dubois for the second time last summer, once again establishing himself at the top of the heavyweight division. For this fight, he stepped away from potential rematches and instead faced Verhoeven, one of the most accomplished kickboxers in the history of the sport. Verhoeven had not been in active competition since defeating Artem Vakhitov at Glory 100 in June 2025, a win that extended his winning streak to 22 in a row.
Verhoeven held an early edge in the opening rounds. He landed a big right hand to begin Round 1, repeatedly bullied Usyk into the corners, and used his size advantage to stay busy on his feet. The early rounds were scored in Verhoeven's favor.
Usyk worked his jab consistently throughout and began landing uppercuts as the fight progressed. The fight ended with Usyk stopping Verhoeven in the eleventh round.
The co-main event also produced a quick finish. Hamzah Sheeraz stopped Alem Begic in the second round to claim the vacant WBO Super Middleweight title. In the welterweight title fight, Jack Catterall defeated Shakhram Giyasov by unanimous decision to take the WBO Welterweight belt.
Earlier on the card, heavyweight Frank Sanchez stopped Richard Torrez Jr. in the second round. Mizuki Hiruta defeated Mai Soliman by unanimous decision at 115 pounds. Benjamin Mendes Tani won by fourth-round TKO over Daniel Lapin in the light heavyweight division. Jamar Talley knocked out Basem Mamdouh in the second round at 200 pounds. Sultan Al-Mohamed finished Dedy Imprax in the first round at 135 pounds. Mahmoud Mobark defeated Ali Ssurunkuma by unanimous decision, and Omar Hikal stopped Michael Kalyalya in the third round at 147 pounds.
